TUGUEGARAO CITY –– A five-minute armed skirmish erupted Monday between seven suspected New People’s Army rebels and police in Gattaran town, Cagayan province.
Lt. Col. Andree Michelle Camhol-Abella, Cagayan Valley police spokesperson, said the gun battle ensued after the rebels fired on the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company members.
Initial reports said the police were building a structure under their free house project at Sitio Sicalan in Barangay Mabuno when the rebels spotted them.
The policemen fought back and engaged the rebels in a gunfight, said Hernes Ramos, Mabuno village chair.
A team from the 77th Infantry Battalion soldiers responded to the scene, forcing the rebels to retreat.
No one was wounded in the skirmish, but government troops found some slippers, kitchen utensils, and other personal belongings reportedly owned by the rebels at the scene.